Transmission



Aug.V 20, 1946.

R. LAPSLEY TRANSMISSION 2 lSheets-Sheet l l Original Filed July` 10,- 1943 mZ. m/ m www www@ TRANSMISS ION original Filed July 1o, 1943 2 sheets-shee`t Y2 www.

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%m\ @ma 3 l@ www vwv QM am k @my 53 #a NNN bm Qm\ v n w m MM. m Nu. uw, A@ 1Q y mu Patented Aug.2o,1946

[a UNITED f STAT-Es PATENT l-orricl-:f

`fraANsMission Y Robert Lap'sl'ey,Berrien Springs, Michi., assignor Clark- Equipment Company, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Buchanan,

'original'applimitimi` July ro, '1943,'seria1 No. e l i ,94, 439. Divided and this application February 23, 1944, SerialNo. 523,773

ning. In addition the torquevconvertor itself is v capable of beingshifted into position t'o 'function as a fluid coupling under certain conditions, this shifti'being effected automatically in accordance with speed and` power requirements of the engine.

One of the primary objects ofr the present invention is to provide a powertransmittingdevice consisting of a fluidY driver which lWill operateY as va iluid torque multiplier or fluid clutch in accordance With the control of the shiftmeanswvhich shift means is automatically controlledat' 'any time. In addition to this the fluid drive construction is provided with means operative when the en`- gine is idling for braking the drive shaft either ,tov a stop or rotating it slightly in a reverse direction 'so as to remove `any .idlingftorqua thereby V'allowing gear changes to bevefecte'd without restriction or clash. Another object of'the present reaction membersf together'rtol prevent `torque multiplication andto produce in effect ra' twfifele` i `ment fluidl clutch Whichupon movemerit of the automatic control means'intheopporsite "direction,`

Willoperate a shift brake so as'to stop rotation of the. drive shaft .and rotate it rearwardly to allow change speedshifts to be lmade without 'restricn In a preferrediorm off-'thejinvention there `is providedza Vfluid `torque convertor which hasA means for` changing `Vthe torque; convertor.. to a uid coupling and Alocking the turbine and reaction members for conjoint-r'itation.V Thismeans is automatically controlled through a remotely vdisposed control unit. In addition the transmis-` sion is'- provided with shift brake means which ngpre-selection of vforward or reverse drive without possibility ofY gear clashing or the necessity of overcoming the idling torque imposed on the gear faces. j Y j *Other objects and advantages of the present invention Will appear more fully from the following' 4detail Vvdescription Which, taken Ain ycon- `junction with the accompanying drawings,V will disclose to those skilled in the art the particular of the present invention.

vIn the drawings: y

Figure 1 is a sectional View through one form of the transmission showing in detail the uid unit and shift brake mechanism; and

- Figure2"is 'a sectional View corresponding to construction and operation of a'vpre'ferred form Figure lo'fafr'nodiiied form of construction.

vReferringY 'now in detail to Figure lythe crank shaft 40 of the engine is connected through studs 4|to`a`fly-wheel spider 42 carrying the starting ring gear 43 and alsojhaving bolted thereto as by means-of studs 44 the driving or impeller 'meme ber 45' of the fluid torque'converter. The impeller 45'7is provided with aY series of fluid inlets 46 through'which oil is forced under pressure into the" interior` of the impeller; lThe hub-portion r 41 of the impeller is provided With the seal means invention ,is to. provide a fluid unit control which isautomatically operable infaccordance with power requirements of the engine forlocllzin'g-,thel fluid? turbine and hcontrols the driven shaftfto hold it against -eni gnetorque when the convertor is idling for. allow'- 48 sealingagainst the flarigev 49v of a bushing', 50 bolted or otherwise suitably securedas at 52, to a partition Wall 53 of the fluid housing 6. The con; trol "unit for the'fluid housingis'carried in the housing member l,- and there is provided a passageway or iluid duct 54 connected by any suitablemeans to a source of fluid pressure,y whereby oil'llows through the duct 54 and thence through passageways 55 intermediate the studs 52 into the rspace 56 disposed within the hub portion of the impeller 45. Y

The turbine or driven member 5l of the torque converter has sealing engagement with the an nularrshoulder 5B ofthe spider 42, and? also is" provided Vwith theV hubportion 59 rivetdas 'atEO toia sleeve member 62 splined on the driven shaft 63 ofthe fluidV unit; The shaft'63 isrpreferably hollow for at least a' portion of its length, and has the reduced end 64 journalled by the Abearings 65 in la suitable pilot recess inthe hub portion of the spider 42. The turbine 51`is pref vented from movement to the left onv the Asplines E3 b'y means of the lock nut'66 threaded on vthe shaft.v The oppositeeend of the sleeve 62 forms a stop for the bearing4 assembly 61 upon which is mounted the stator or reactionv member 68v of the -iluidftorque converter, this stator member `having bolted thereto as by' meansiof studs 69 a sleeve member HJ havingan extended inwardly flanged Vhub portion 12 provided with ratchet teeth13. Y Y l The teeth 13 are adapted to engage corresponding ratchet teeth 14 splined on housing 50 as by means of helical splines. Oil holes 15 provide for now of lubricating oil tothis portion of the unit. The Vmember carrying the teeth 14 is provided with a tapered yexternal ,surfaceV 16 adapted tc;-` be engaged .by a plurality of spring pressedballs Y 19 carried by circumferentially spaced arm'sfllVH carried by a ring member 82 bolted to the statorV `68. Whenever the stator ,tends-"to rotate 'rearing the sta-tor against reverse rotation. However rotation of the stator 68 conjointly with the turV bine 51 causes a reverse action, tending .to-move' the teeth 14v out of engagement with the teeth 13 to allow free forward rotation with the stator. The housing 1is piloted inand securely bolted to the fluid unit housing 6 as by means of the studs 83, there being a suitable inspection opening 84 provided in the bottom of this housing:

Theinwardly directed flange 53 of thehousing ,1 has bolted thereto thenmember 5| which carries the brake'drum 85 having a suitable-oilre- Ytaining flange 86 pressedv thereover.H A suitable sealv 81 isV provided between-the" -hub- 88 ofthe gears in the transmission to-select either forward speed or reverse drive by manual selection from the steering wheel. It will be noted that there is a resilient lost-motion connection between the brake lill and sleeve `93, which provides a semi-V Aself-energizing action for the'braliefsoA that once i it engages, Vthe tendency is tothread the sleeve 93 outwardly'therefrom, but since the pedal'is being depressed, the sleevev will actuallyfefectV 4slight reverse vrotationv of the shaft 6,3. This particular-brake construction is shown more clearlyl anddescribed in .more detailin my copending gapplication; Serial "No, 480,714, led March 26,

wardly, the pressure of the balls on thegtapered surface feeds the splined memberr14 inwardly to engage the ratchet teeth with teeth` 13, lock-.

n1943,'-and need 'notbe described in detail herein.

The pin 95 carried'by the sleeve 93 has free movement within'the'slot 94 Vof shaft 63 to facilif-tatebperation' of the brake., This movement is "alson provided in order tov facilitate operation of the'cIutching means'by which the torque converter is changed to a fluid coupling, withoutinterferingv with the brake operation. y p y j In. converting Vthe torque multiplier to affluid couplinggshifting ofthe sleeve 1S13-to the-right causes' the -pin 95 to' moveu to thefright; :thereby exerting a pull. on ,rod -91within vshaftl53.Y The-op- Y -posite end of rod 91j is provided with detentm'emmember 5I and the shouldered portion l8 9' of Y the shaft 63 to prevent the escape of fluid from the torque converter Vunit into the-housing, 1. 'I'he annular sea-l ring 90 forming apartof this seal also functions Vas a stop for Ythehelically coiled spring 92,;which is biased between'jthe ring 90 and the/recessed part of a sleeve 93 splined for axial sliding movement 0n theV shaft 63.' The shaft 63 adjacent this point is provided with an elongated slot 94 through which extends a pin.95, this pin being-secured in the sleeve 93fanden1" gaging ina suitable slotV 96'formed ina sliding 63. The pull rodV |51 is arranged to normally be Ypressed t0 the leftbythe spring 98 bearing at one end Yagainst the hase of the -bore'in the shaftv 63, and -at the opposite end against the head end portion 9,9 of 'the'pull rod. The sleeve V93 is pro.- vided with a helicallysplined external portion |90 upon' which is mounted the 'correspondingly splined hub portion of a brake member 10| adapt;- ed to engage the-*brake surface85. 'Ihis Ymem-V Y pull rod `91 disposed within-the borerof the shaft Y Y ber is normally pressed against aY stop ringV |93 by means of the spring |04, which spring is biased-f" at its opposite end against thering M15-carried onthesleeve 93 and forming onestop/for a bearing assembly |06,` the oppositeside of I the Y bearing being held against axial movementrby thegring 101. TheV bearing |06 is providedewithV anannular yoke or lcollar llladapted to beengaged by a suitable shift mechanismroperated Vby theY foot brake. Depression of the brake'pedal f (not shown). moves the Ybearing assembly, and consequently Vthe sleeve 93 to theleft, as viewed in -Figulie 11.

tween; providesrafthreading action, rtending Yto rotatethe `sleeve93jn adirection opposite to .-the normalrotation ,ofr'shaft 63 so that .the application-ofg'thisbrake will stop the 'rotation of fthe shaft when-the :torque converter,` is idling,. and,

, V upon-furtlier'jactuation ofthe pedal, will.cause the sleeve v 9 3 to'effet throughftheY threading Y i causing .the brake IDI to engagefv the bij-alge drum v8 5. Initial engagement therebe- .10E Q1? theshaft ta facilitate s hiftinspof .the

. applied*tocorresponding'parts. In this-constructionY which is the' showing f the tbrque converterV and brake'mechanismforfacilitating shifting l.

while'ithe'en'g'ine isidling,'it 'willjbe'no'tedi that 'l several modifications are made `overthe` construc- -tion shown yin'liigure i1 in providinga slightly,I Y 'modified form of brake-constructionforchanging`4 'Y forceis applied to the yoke |68. f f Y.

j Consideringnow thedisclosureV ofligure- 2, it will be noted that inmany respects the construc'- l tion shown is similar tothatshownl in Figurel, and'consequently similar reference ,numerals are Y bers ||0`er1gaging infsuitable recesses-'in the hub portion of a clutch gear Hlcnsplined on-shaft613.

lThe clutch gear I ll- 'is provided withexternal clutch teeth ||2 -adaptedfto have'clutching en- Y gagement with the teeth l|3 carried bythe'fhub` Y of the member 12.Y

Y Consequently, upon being pulledfto'the fright, `therod V 93causes the clutch memberE H l :to'emove into clutchingengagement with tliememberilgp.

locking the stator 68 to' the Yshaft 63 for conjoint rotationtherewith.- Since` thev turbine 51 vis `also splined tothe shaft- E3, it'will'beiobviouslthatfthe Ytwo, elements of the converterwill"be coupled `for j conjoint rotation, thereby changingfithe A:torque converter to a fluid coupling. The' shaft 63 lis''pr` vided withV an elongated. slotljldtto accommodate this movement of 'the clutch mlenber. Thejslot I96 `in'pullrodlll allowsoperation of the brakeme'chanismv I 9| without in any wayaffecting the/'clutch member, since this movement is in the opposite` direction or to the left, and clearance Vis'provided Y for this purpose. `rPreferably, a suitahloil seal ring H5 is interposed in the'bore of th'esh'aftfBB to prevent leakage'of oil rearwardly'through this bore'.M The spring 98, as will be noted; urges the pull 4rodl'91 tothe left, .and normally tbff unless shftin'g 'Y maintain the clutch disengaged! the torque converter` to a fluid. Coup-ling Y v In this connection ic'shcum Vbe'raced-[that .the

Vteeth H3? on the clutchmember 12V ardisp'sed adjacent che bearings s1, while the teeth' cli-rnc 'shifting' pinion I I are disposed in` the space-:b-

tween the teeth |l| 3and the ratchet teetl`1l13-L1ll,Y which latter teeth act-as a one-way' clutchforthef Vstator or reaction member. These teeth are indi-v Vcated at ||2 and, upon movement of tha-shifting mechanism to; theleftas. shown in .Fig;f:2;-,1;are Y adapted to mesh with the teeth ||3 to lock the stator 68 for conjoint rotation with shaft 63 and consequently with the turbine or -driven member 51. It will be noted that the pinion I I I issplined on the shaft 63 for conjoint rotation therewith, and -is controlled by the pin HD' car-ried in the sleeve |86, which in turnfis pressed `into the slidn ing plunger |-82 mounted in the counterbored portion of the shaft |63. A suitable spring |83 Anormally urges the plunger |82 to the right, holding the teeth H2 and -|*|3' out of engagement. A suitable pin |84 holds the lock pin H0' in position, and is threaded into the outer end of the plunger |82. 'Ihe plunger |82 has bearing against a spacer member |85 which in turn seats at the lower end of the bore of the shaft 63 against a stop member |86.

When the plunger |82 is moved to the left, the pin I0 carries the clutch teeth into engagement. This movement is eifected by the rod |81 located within the shaft 63 and carrying a radially extending pin |88, which in turn engages a sleeve |89 carried on the splines |98 formed on a shouldered portion of the shaft 63. The sleeve |39 is shiftable to the left by means of a suitable shift member engaging the collar |92 carried by the bearing assembly |93. Movement of this shift mechanism results in clutching of the teeth H2 and H3 together. Upon movement of the shift mechanism in the opposite direction, the spring |83 produces disengagement of the clutch teeth7 releasing the stator 68 so that it can become locked against the sleeve carried on the splined portion of the flange member 49 secured to the housing, thereby locking the stator against reverse rotation.

'Ihe uid for the torque converter is introduced through the passageway 51| and thence through passageways |94, which alternate with the bolts or studs 52 to introduce the fluid into the chamber 56 from whence it ows into the interior of the converter. l

The sleeve |89 is provided externally with the helically splined portion |95 upon which is mounted the Ibrake spider |96. This spider has a brake surface |91 adapted to engage the internal braking surface of the drum |98, which is secured to the end wall of the converter housing as by means of studs |99. A suitable oil retaining member 209 is pressed over the drum |98 to retain oil on the braking surfaces, as described previously. The brake member |96 is normally urged against the stop carried by the splines |95 by means of a spring '292, and when the brake drum is engaged and the spider |96 tends to stop rotating, further movement of the shifting mechanism causes the sleeve to be threaded through the hub of the spider on the helical splines, thereby causing slight reverse rotation of shaft 63 to facilitate shifting of the gears in the transmission,

It is to be understood that any suitable type of change speed transmission employing two or more gear ratios may be driven by the shaft 63 or the shaft |21, it being understood that normally a pinion on the outer end of this shaft will be employed for transmitting the driving torque of the shaft into the transmission gears.

In the normal use of the construction shown in Figures-l and 2 there is provided a control unit which is responsive jointly to the speed and engine load conditions of the vehicle. This unit is preferably of the type disclosed in my copending parent application referred to above, although any similar control mechanism may be employed to provide the shifting effects required for `changing the torque converter to a fluid coupling.

It is therefore believed apparent that I have provided a novel `type .of mechanism .for automatically coupling the rotor and `driven* `elements of the torque :converter for conjoint .rotation underY certain conditions to produce a fluid coupling mechanism operating as ya torque converter when these two elements are not clutched to'- gether. i

I am aware that -v-arious changes may be .made in certain details of design disclosed in the instant application, and I therefore do not intend to be limited except as defined by the scope and spirit of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a transmission, a housingY containing a fluid unit and a transmission, said unit including an impeller', ay stator free to turn in a forward direction, and a turbine, a shaft driven by said turbine, a sliding hub adjacent said stator and having ratchet teeth, said hub having helically splined engagement in said housing, means carried by said stator including ratchet teeth, and means carried by said stator engaging said hub and operable upon reverse rotation of said stator for engaging said ratchet teeth to prevent said rotation.

2. Means for clutching the stator of a torque Aconverter to the driven shaft of said converter, comprising a first clutch member secured to the hub of said stator, a Vsecond clutch member splined to and slidable axially on said shaft withinthe hub of said stator, an actuator including a first plunger slidable axially within said shaft,

f a longitudinal slot in said shaft adjacent the hub of said stator, a second plunger in said shaft in endwise abutment with said rst plunger and having radially projecting means movable in said slot for shifting said second clutch member into and out of engagement with said rst clutch y member, spring means normally holding said second plunger in inoperative position and means at the remote end of said first plunger for moving it against said spring means to shift said second plunger into operative position.

" 3. Means for controlling the stator of a torque converter to v.lock it against reverse rotation relative to an impeller member comprising a stationary element having an axially shiftable member in helically splined engagement therewith, a tapered surface on said member and a ratchet tooth portion on the end face thereof, said statorrhaving a coacting ratchet tooth surface and having an extension overlying said tapered surface, and ball means carried by said extension and bearing on said tapered surface whereby upon rotation of said stator in reverse direction said axially shiftable member is moved axially on its splines into position to provide locking engagement between said ratchet tooth portions for locking said stator to said stationary element.

4. Means for controlling the stator of a torque converter to lock it against reverse rotation rela? tive to an impeller comprising a stationaryV element having an axially shiftable member in helically splined engagement therewith, and located adjacent the hub of said stator, c oactingoneway clutch means on said member and on the hub of said stator,an annular tapered surface on said member, and an extension on said hub stator overlying said surface and having Y ball means in pressure engagement with said surface whereby upon rotation of said stator in -a reverse direction said ball means threads said kshiftable member axially. toward said hub to engage said clutch means for locking said stator to said stationary element. Y Y

5. Means forclutching thestator of a torque converter to the driven shaft thereof comprising a first clutch element secured to the hub of said stator, a second clutch element splined for axial remotely disposed point, a second plunger shift-` movement on said shaft, said shaft having axiallyv 'extending bores of different diameters, 'a rst ,plunger shiftable in one of said bores from a 10 means.

able in the other of said bores and having means limiting its movement .in one direction, spring means normally urging said-'second plunger in said one directionand radial means carried luy said second plunger engaging said second clutch element for shifting said second clutch element into 'clutching engagement upon movement of Y said first plunger against the end of said second plunger in a direction to compress said'spring .ROBERT LAPsLinf(V 

